Ok, fews good points few bad and a total WTF point with play on the pitch. RSL looked pretty good, Olave handled Ching and between Borchers and Wingert, De Rosario was shut out too.
With the offense, I noticed that it seemed the team has become obsessed with getting that perfect shot. There were plenty of times that a driven volley or one timer was open. What that opens up, even if the shot isn't on target is rebounds which are a great way to catch a keeper out of position. For example, when Beckerman had a wide open shot thanks to Findley catching Onstad off his line and out of position, instead of just shooting and putting it in, he played with it, which allowed enough time for the defense to get back and clear the ball off the line. Drive the shot, score the goal.
As for the crowd, I don't know what to think sometimes. The dynamic between RCB and the FCB and add in the surrounding crowd and it's not a good thing. I don't really know what to think, to those who were rightly offended, I apologize, too many were out of line and too many don't understand where the line is. I can't wait until we will be the ones who have control over our section.
Now as for Wingert's red, totally warranted because he was dumb enough to retaliate. I just hope the league does the right thing and suspects all involved.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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I don't know what to really think of the creamsicles coming to town. I do think it's great that ESPN will be broadcasting and of course there should be a good crowd because of the fireworks, but Houston always seems like such an enigma to me. The win the Cup, but yet don't seem to play terribly well through the year. That may just be my impression, but they don't seem to just destroy their opponents like you would think they should. The just seemt o get by and then win in the playoffs.
They have a lot of solid players, a great core to their team. I just checked the stats and it seems the mighty Hawaiian forehead (Brian Ching) has six goals this year. I was surprised by that, it has seemed that even though he's been playing pretty well for the US on the international level, he's sort of back-burnered MLS. Guess not. De Rosario as well. DeRo can shred a defense and do some pretty amazing things, it just seems that he doesn't do that as often as he's probably capable.
What can be said about Houston is that they have a sold defense. They always have. Vanilla Onstad, even if he has that hairstyle is still one of the top keepers in the league. Their backline is solid, but maybe a step slow. I don't know if they can both body up with Deuchar and deal with Findley's speed, but more telling than anything will be whether RSL can finish their chances or not. Ching and DeRo, if given an open shot will both bury them. I'm just glad they no longer have Nate Jaqua.
Houston just played a 120 minute match on Tuesday against the Charleston Battery in Open Cup play, losing on penalties. Hopefully between the long match two days ago, travel and then the carpet and altitude of RES, RSL gets a distinct advantage and comes away with 3 points. I am going to call this one 2-1 for RSL.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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What happened to our midfield? When you want to play the possession style game that RSL does, the midfield needs to keep possession. This of course didn't happen. RSL had some chances, but KC controlled the run of play for the most part. It really comes down to the midfield, and for the most part, the problem as at defensive midfield. Dema didn't do well at winning balls or keeping them. Beckerman as well. Williams and Morales, when they did get the ball from the back, did well with it, were creative and made some chances, but again, RSL needs to put the ball in the back of the net when given a shot. At times, our backline looked a bit suspect this game as well, but I think that was mostly a function of the defensive mids not doing their jobs and allowing KC space in the attacking third. Findley looked to be just watching the game, it was great to see him subbed out, but I did not understand taking Deuchar out. I think Deuchar with Nunez would have given us a distinct advantage in the back that Movsisyan just didn't bring to the table.
The team just looked flat coming out. I still do not understand why they do that on the road. KC was a very beatable team, that should have been a win, but the way RSL played, they at best deserved a draw.
As to the end of the game, how typically RSL was that finish? I told my wife when the foul was called, which was a good call, even if it was one that the ref was not consistently making throughout the game, that KC would score. It just sucks for Beltran, who I think did a good job getting a head to the ball, but was just unlucky in which way it went. I have been impressed with Beltran's progress thus far this season. He's still making rookie mistakes, but they are getting fewer and farther between.
I also have to question the sub of Cutler for Williams, Willams was playing well, was playing offensively, and should have stayed on the field. The sub should have been Dema, he was gassed, not playing well and an by taking out an offensive player in Williams and putting in the defensive Cutler, all you got was a failed attempt at bunker ball. How many times will RSL get beat when they bunker at the end before they learn that it's not a good tactic?
Now the last thing I want to touch on, that field sucks. I can only imagine what the sight lines are like especially for those along what would normally be the first base line. KC needs to get a real stadium, or at least try to do something with the infield and play on that end. Instead, the only seats with any sort of proximity to the pitch are the ones right behind the goal along the third base line. Even the empty Arrowhead is better than that garbage. Also, it was sad to see any time someone took a step or the ball bounced, sand kicking up.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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It was such a wonderful experience to wake up this morning and find out that there are plenty of people who can think in the 3rd Congressional District and do not like getting constantly lied to. It was great to see Chris Cannon lose his primary, especially after his blatant lies about Chaffetz not living in the district (he would not be even eligible to run if he didn't live there) and even after being confronted about the lies, not backing off of them. I hope now that Cannon (the Troll) will finally go back to living under his bridge and not bother anyone again.
On a local level, I am currently (mis)represented at the Legislature by Glenn Donnelson. He has been on the wrong side of about every issue that has come up in the Legislature from what my stances are. For those who don't know, he's the one who, every year, presents the bill to take away in-state tuition to children of illegal immigrants who would otherwise qualify for resident tuition at the state's public universities. Thankfully, that bill has been beat down every time he's tried to present it. For you RSL fans, Donnelson voted against the stadium bill and when I tried to contact him regarding his vote, I was told by his intern, "Mr. Donnelson doesn't feel he needs to justify his vote to you." Well this is exactly why he is no longer going to (mis)represent me. The best part is, he got his ass handed to him by a political newcomer. I like Ryan Wilcox enough that, even though I'm a Democrat, I will probably vote for him in November. New blood is exactly what we need in the state legislature.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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Well it was unfortunate to see the Czechs crash out of Euro 08. I was hoping to be able to see them play while I was over there, but it was not to be as they lost before I got there. My research trip I would generally call a success, even though I did not find 100% of what I was looking for. I am looking into Jan Masaryk and especially events leading up to his death in 1948 by apparent suicide. I am especially trying to pin down the proceedings of three meetings just prior to his death between him and the communist leader Klement Gottwald. The death of Masaryk has long been labeled a suicide, but I am hoping that the new sources now available at USU, Masaryk's personal papers, will shed some more light on what happened. So far, still digging. The only real bad part of the trip was that my camera was stolen at Gatwick Airport on the way home. The good news is that because I bought it with my credit card, they will get it replaced; the bad news: all my pictures from the trip are gone. At least they didn't get my laptop, that had all my research notes and stuff on it.
Anyway, enough of that, looks like I missed two very different matches. I have had a chance to watch the New England match on my Tivo, and all I can say is that it finally looked like RSL decided to show up and play to their potential. Dema was the only real dark spot on this match, he doesn't seem to be at 100% right now, whether it's a remainder of his illness of the last couple of weeks or something else, I don't know. Regardless, he has now taken the role of emotional leader of this team that Carey Talley had in 2006, but then decided he didn't want last year and while he played for RSL this year. Deuchar looked great especially, he was in the right places at the right times and RSL is finally starting to get him some quality service into the box. He's one of those sneaky type forwards who will always find a way into a danger position through the back door and it's nice to see RSL starting to figure that out. Nunez I also liked a lot. Beltran I will say, after a shaky first start is turning into a quality player. I still think that Joy is best on the left and Wingert on the right, but Beltran, given the playing time has adjusted to the professional speed rather well. Borchers, well the goal was all on him, but that will happen from time to time, even with the best in the world, so as long as it's a learning experience, I can live with that. Olave, what can you say about him? I am very impressed, in general, with RSL's additions since Kreis took over last season. This team on the pitch right now is a quality team that just needs to get some more playing time together and I think they have a shot at being legitimate contenders.
I haven't watched the San Jose match yet, but just from the box score, more than anything else, RSL needed to get shots of frame. To have over 20 shots and only 4 on goal, that's a major issue, thankfully it seems to have been addressed in time for the New England match where that was much improved. That is an area that RSL still needs a lot of work in, but it appears that progress is being made.
I truly think RSL has finally turned a corner. The past three years have been tough, but there is now a light at the end of the tunnel. The stadium is almost done, the grass starts going in today from what my friend at the sod farm is telling me. The seats are almost in. The stadium is beautiful. I can't wait to stand in the south end and see RSL finally in the playoffs. I think that this dream is getting a lot closer to reality. Now I only wait and hold my breath, RSL has been known to rip out the hearts of fans in the past, here's to believing that those days are past now.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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First to the Euros. I can't stop watching. Who would have thought the Dutch would emerge as the team to beat? Wow! Beating, emphatically, both Italy and France, excellent. Spain also look tough, but I'm not convinced yet as they won big against a pretty weak Russian side. What can I say about Portugal either?
The Czechs, well, first game against Switzerland, it was a win, but they played horrible. They truly miss that creative force in the middle of the field that is Rosicky. David Rozehnal has not been playing well and the entire back line for the Czechs just gave up on Portugal's last goal. Petr Cech has been playing pretty well but hasn't been getting the support he needs. I also thought it was a bit of a mistake to start Baros over Koller, as Baros has not had any real form to speak of since about 2005. I do expect the Czechs to advance and most likely face Croatia in the quarters.
Now on to RSL. Hopefully they can finally muster up a win on the road at the Home Depot Center. How many RSL rejects can a single team have? I will be really pissed if either Eskandarian and Harris score, since they certainly couldn't do that when they were here. Hopefully Carey Talley has another one of his howlers and keeps giving the ball away in dangerous spots.
I really though do not see RSL getting a win here, but I do see a 2-2 draw. Not really sure why, just pulling numbers out of thin air.
And to add this, I found the best youtube video ever. I must give a warning that this video may offend some people, and if it does, I really don't give a shit, but don't whine that I didn't warn you.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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First half, excellent football. I really think they finally figured out how to play to the advantages of having Deuchar. If you have a guy who's that much taller than everyone, play to his head. Quite honestly, I think that Kevin Hartman had a great game and that was all that really prevented RSL from getting the win. Hartman made about 4 great saves, each of which should have been goals. I loved the offensive pressure thought the first half. The second half bogged down, but in my opinion mostly because the ref decided to stop letting the players decide the match on the pitch but decided he would start calling every little contact. It was horrible to watch him call back a break for a foul that should have obviously been allowed to continue as an advantage. He did that on about 3 different occasions. To top that off, he would allow obvious fouls, things that should have received a yellow card as a professional foul. The lack of referee consistency made the game bog down into a undecided stalemate the last 20 minutes of the match.
Technically, RSL played extremely well. Even without the goals, the technical aspects of their game were first rate. The pressure from the back line, through the midfield, to the strikers was excellent. The midfield did an excellent job keeping the ball in the attacking third and maintaining good possession, as long as the referee was not blowing his whistle and making some completely strange call. This match should be made into a referee training video on how not to do things. Not to say the fouls were not something that could have been called, they certainly were, but I have to question the referee's assessment of when to apply advantage and when not to.
One other impression I got from this game and thinking through the week as to who would be RSL's MVP so far this year was how obviously improved the team is since last year. Taking the wrecking ball to the team over the past year really will start paying off. Last year, the only defender that we had who was worth anything game in and game out was Eddie Pope. Our back line was mostly absent for the season, which is why Nick Rimando had such a great year. That said, this year Rimando hasn't been our MVP, which is really a good thing. While Nick has certainly demonstrated that he's capable of making spectacular saves, the fact that he has rarely this season been called upon to make those saves says something about our backline's play so far. Nat Borchers has been an extremely capable replacement for Eddie Pope, shoes that are extremely hard to fill. Olave I think with some more playing time will be a better defender than Gooch on the USMNT. He has the size and speed, and as he gets more experience with his positioning, which is good already, he will be a shut-down defender that will be extremely hard to beat. I think Ian Joy is the best left defender we have, but to really say anything about him, I would like to see him at 100%. PErhaps the biggest surprise this year has been the play of Chris Wingert. His crosses are spot on, other than Morales and Williams, he's the best crosser on the team. Beltran, after a rough first game has steadily improved and should be able to work his way into a consistent starting position.
Our midfield this season has probably been the weak point. I am not a fan of the Ellinger diamond midfield, but it works if you play it right. My personal preference would be to run a 5 man midfield with either just Deuchar up top so a 4-5-1. Another option would be a 3-5-2 with Espindola up top to start. Findley is a very capable supersub, but I think his speed is best utilized towards the end of a game after defenders are tired. Off the bench is where Findley is most dangerous.
Well, overall a good game for RSL, just a bit disappointing that in the last 20 minutes, the referee ruined the match. Until the referee problem in MLS is fixed, MLS will continue to be viewed as nothing more than just a pub league. This is the first step really. Yes there are bad refs all over the world, but in general, most top flight leagues have top flight refs and MLS certainly cannot say that.
Now for Euro thoughts, the Czechs played generally poorly, but Karel Bruckner is a tactical genius and made a perfect sub in bringing Koller out and Svěrkoš's goal was great. Jankulovski looked bad in the first half, but played better as the match wore on. Grygera had a howler, lucky it was against Switzerland, against Turkey or Portugal, if he plays like that he will be punished. Rosicky is sorely missed, in general the service into the box for Koller was poor and there was little in the way of creativity coming through the midfield.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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Not sure really what to say about this match. KC doesn't really have many threats, which is why they are tied with RSL in the table with 11 points. No more Eddie Johnson, and nobody else really that gives defenders nightmares. Their leading scorer is Jimmy Conrad, a defender who has seen better days (but still an American international). They have won two consecutive non-league games, one against the cRapids (who they have now beat twice this season), but I'm just not sure what to think. One thing is that their keeper is Kevin Hartman, the one keeper in the league who lets the abuse get to him. For those in the north goal, make sure Hartman gets a steady stream of insults, he tends to do stupid things like drop the ball in the goal when he loses his concentration and starts listening to the fans. For those that don't remember, Butterfingers dropped an easy shot right at him back in 2006 when he was with LA against RSL that gave RSL the win. Last year's Open Cup match also showed what Hartman is capable of, with Andy Williams' shot from midfield.
The injury report will be telling. Dema Kovalenko has been sick, and is uncertain for this Saturday, and probably won't be 100% if he does play. I won't be surprised to see Cutler come in, if not even get the start. Cutler is capable but I just have a hard time being excited with him playing. Espindola will probably be out, so Findley starts, which right now I think is a good thing, Findley had a great match last week and has to be flying high after winning GOTW and Player of the Week. Our forward line seems to be getting a bit thin.
Now in other more important issues, Euro 08 starts Saturday as well. As a Czech Republic fan, I of course am going to say they are going to win. This year is a bit scary as their attacking midfielder and team captain, Tomas Rosicky is out with a nagging hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined with Arsenal since January. With the retirement from international play by Pavel Nedved, the Czechs have no proven creative force in the midfield. They have a top notch back line, lead by Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina) and Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan). At holding midfield is Tomas Galasek (Nuremburg), who is one of the best holding mids in Europe. Not to be missed is Jan Koller (Nuremburg) at forward. The 6'8 Koller, the Czech's all-time leading scorer, has announced his international retirement that will take place after the tournament. Koller, as he demonstrated at the World Cup against the United States before going down injured is extremely dangerous in the air and the key to the Czech attack. Their group has Portugal, who's a very good team, especially with Christiano Ronaldo (diving whore). Turkey will also be tough. They kick things off for the entire tournament with a match against host Switzerland. As co-hosts, the Swiss got an automatic berth in the tournament. Recently the Swiss managed to lose to the United States, so that does show what sort of quality they are. I expect that the Czechs should cruise to a win in the opener and should get past the group stage. The biggest point for the Czechs is their health. If they can stay healthy, especially Koller, they are dangerous. If they start getting injuries, like they did in the World Cup, their lack of depth in key positions, especially in the midfield and at forward will be killer.
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| Posted by RCB Donk at | | | |
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